• With seven games left, the Nuggets (49-26) are in second in the Western Conference, but there is just a 2 1/2-game difference between the No. 2 seed and the No. 7 seed.

• Utah (46-28) could very well be Denver’s opponent in the first round.

• Being a division winner guarantees a team a top-four finish, and a win tonight would give Denver a 3 1/2-game lead over Utah, basically burying the Jazz’s division-winning chances (Portland, meanwhile, is 1 1/2 games back).

• It’s the darn Jazz, the pesky division rival that has won two of three games against Denver and has given the Nuggets fits for years.

“In all actuality, it’s not just another game,” Denver point guard Chauncey Billups said.

At Wednesday’s practice, the Nuggets’ defensive planning centered around Deron Williams, because “how we control him and disrupt him is the first part of our game plan,” coach George Karl said.

Anthony said Williams can hang with any point guard in the NBA. He is second in the league with 10.6 assists and “as tough as they come,” Billups said. “Great size and speed, can really shoot the ball. He’s a great playmaker. He’s always a tough challenge.”

The Nuggets feel the best way of slowing down Williams is throwing different looks at him, like a crafty big-league hurler. Billups, Anthony Carter and Dahntay Jones will spend time defending Williams, and with pick-and-roll defense in the fourth quarter, Karl won’t hesitate to put bigger players Kenyon Martin or Anthony on the 6-foot-3 guard.

“You can’t let him get too comfortable, because he can probably figure out every defense,” Billups said. “You got to be aggressive and make him defend as well. Try to wear him down.”

In two games against the Nuggets this season, Williams had 15 points and 10 assists in a Jan. 25 loss and 25 and 11 in the March 6 win. But he had totals of four and six turnovers; he averages 3.5 this season.

And as Karl said after Denver’s win Tuesday, it’s ninth in the past 10 games, “Our defense is the best it’s ever been since I’ve been here.

“I’m just proud of how the team has functioned. It’s in a good place — probably in the best place it’s been all year. . . . For the most part, over 82 games, our team has gotten an A or A-minus for focus.”

Utah at Denver

8:30 p.m., TNT, KCKK 1510 AM/KRCN 1060 AM

Spotlight on Carlos Boozer: If playing a big division game in April isn’t motivation enough for Boozer, surely the Jazz big man will be banging the boards after a paltry three-rebound effort at Portland on Tuesday. Boozer averages 10.6 per game, which would be tied for fourth if he had played enough games to statistically qualify. In two games against Denver, he had totals of 16 and 14.

Nuggets: Playoff tickets go on sale Saturday. . . . Nene (ankle sprain) is probable to play. He notched a double-double in Denver’s last game, his 18th of the season and third in his past 21 games. Denver is 14-4 when Nene has a double-double. . . . The Nuggets will wear green uniforms for the environmentally conscious “Green Week.” . . . In the win against the Knicks on Tuesday, Carmelo Anthony shot 65 percent from the field. Denver is 14-1 when he shoots 50 percent or better. . . . After going nine games with just one 20-plus assist performance, the Nuggets now have eight in their past 10, including 28 against New York.

Jazz: Utah has won two of three games against Denver this season. . . . The Jazz is 14-22 on the road this season. . . . Utah has won five of its past seven games but lost an important division matchup at Portland in its most recent game. . . . Jazz big man Mehmet Okur likes to shoot the 3-ball, and he is fifth in the NBA by shooting 44.6 percent from beyond the arc.

Benjamin Hochman was a sports columnist for The Denver Post until August 2015 before leaving for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, his hometown newspaper. Hochman previously worked for the New Orleans Times-Picayune, winner of two Pulitzer Prizes for its Hurricane Katrina coverage. Hochman wrote the Katrina-themed book “Fourth and New Orleans,” published in 2007.

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